PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Kobe Bryant needed just 33 minutes to score
38 points and the Los Angeles Lakers needed less than that to
humiliate the Phoenix Suns at America West Arena.

Bryant and the Lakers continued their dominance of the Suns by
cruising to their biggest margin of victory this season while
handing the Suns their worst loss, 115-78.

Having held 24 of their previous 26 opponents below 100 points,
the Suns had little hope of holding down the Lakers after, what
proved to be, a decisive 12-2 burst that gave Los Angeles a
45-35 lead with two minutes left in the first half.

"Well, I don't know what was with Phoenix tonight but we came
out and played a good second quarter," Lakers coach Phil Jackson
said. "In the third quarter they came out and played small ball
on us and the result was we just kept pouring it on. Basically,
Kobe stayed hot and we found a way to get after them."

Bryant, the NBA's leading scorer, hit 12-of-19 shots, all three
of his 3-pointers and went 11-of-11 at the free throw line.
Shaquille O'Neal scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 35
minutes for Los Angeles, joining Bryant on the bench for the
fourth quarter after the Lakers opened an 85-59 cushion.

"He's arguably the best player in the league right now and he
took it to us," Phoenix coach Scott Skiles said. "He has a
level of commitment to his game that few guys have. Nobody on
our team has that commitment, that's for sure."

Los Angeles has won five straight visits to America West, five
consecutive meetings in the series and 17 of its last 20
encounters with the Suns.

"The Lakers don't have any respect for us," Skiles said. "They
feel like they can beat us whenever they want to and they do."

The Lakers eliminated the Suns in five games during last
season's Western Conference semifinals.

Phoenix's previous worst loss also was to a Los Angeles team, a
98-88 setback against the Clippers here on December 15. The
Suns also established a season high for points allowed and a
season low for points scored.